Wiesbaden (dpa/lhe) – The wife of the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj, Olena Selenska, met in Wiesbaden for a conversation with Hesse’s state parliament president Astrid Wallmann (CDU). “Hessen stands by Ukraine as a reliable friend and partner,” Wallmann explained after the meeting on Friday. According to a statement from the state parliament, Selenska said: “I would like to thank the citizens of the state of Hesse, who are helping Ukraine and the Ukrainians. We feel the support at both the federal and regional levels.”

The visit of the Ukrainian President’s wife to the state parliament is an impressive sign that “the spirit of freedom and democracy unites people across all borders, especially in difficult times,” explained Wallmann. Olena Selenska fought with great determination and all her strength for the freedom of her country and at the same time for the freedom of Europe.

“We in Hesse are also very grateful for that,” emphasized the President of the State Parliament. For eight months, Ukraine has been exposed to a war of aggression by Russia that violates international law and for eight years to the annexation of parts of its territory. “I, too, condemn in the strongest terms this war of aggression against Ukraine and Russia’s continued violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.”

At their meeting, Selenska and Wallmann exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine and the situation of those who had fled to Hesse, as the state parliament announced. The federal state has now taken in around 80,000 people from Ukraine.